Synopsis

Plot

After school, Gumball and Darwin search for available seats on the school bus, and they eventually end up at the rear seat with an angry Banana Joe. They wonder why he is so angry, but he doesn't answer. Darwin promises to "find the source of Banana Joe's anger and appease his wrath" by the end of the weekend, to which Gumball objects.

The next day, the boys shop for groceries, while Gumball complains about Darwin promising to help Banana Joe instead of playing a new game together this weekend. They recall how excited they are upon learning of the news of The Tale of Zelmore's release, as well as Darwin promising to play with Gumball that day. Darwin tries justifying his promise, plus (failing to) make Gumball feel guilty for his selfishness. Soon Banana Joe shows up at the grocery store, and Darwin whispers to him to meet at the soda machine.

Afterwards, Gumball and Darwin join the queue at Ripley 2000. While Gumball gets into a fight with an overly excited Ocho, Darwin sneaks away to meet with Banana Joe at the nearby soda machine. The two have a conversation, but Darwin keeps shuffling away from Banana Joe several times, irritating him. He tells Darwin to come help him with his video at the school gym before he rejoins Gumball.

At the Watterson house, Gumball excitedly starts up the game, but sees Darwin trying to sneak away. Gumball questions Darwin, who simply states he's going to the restroom. After another query, Gumball loses his suspicion, and Darwin flees to the bathroom. He tries to escape through the window, via a toilet paper rope. Since the "rope" is weak, it breaks under Darwin's weight, and he falls to the ground.

When Darwin comes to, he hears Gumball calling his name. He tries to stand, but falls to his knees in pain. Gumball reveals that he placed bricks beneath the restroom window because he knew that Darwin would try to escape. Darwin then continues to reason with Gumball, who remains adamant and refuses to help.

At the Elmore Jr. High gym, Banana Joe is in front of a camera, making a body-building video. He then tries to lift some weights, but he fails and is crushed. He then states how important it is to have somebody spot you while lifting, but since Gumball and Darwin are still not around, he attempts to show the camera how to get out of his situation. These attempts simply get him hurt even more, and he assures himself that Gumball and Darwin will arrive soon.

Back at the Watterson's house, Gumball drags Darwin back into the house. Darwin's extreme desire to help Banana Joe depresses Gumball, stating that Darwin is better friends with Joe than him. Darwin then comforts Gumball, who finally agrees to help Banana Joe. Suddenly, Darwin states that Banana Joe can probably handle it until tomorrow, and Gumball notes that Darwin just wants to play the game as much as he does. At the school gym, Banana Joe is stumbling around, muttering "They'll be here soon...". He hurts himself on more gym equipment, and gets sucked into a treadmill. He continues believing in Gumball and Darwin, the lights in the gym shut off.

The next morning at the school bus, Banana Joe is in a huge body cast. Gumball and Darwin have provided him a bell, and they ask him yes-no questions with one ring for yes and two rings for no. He answers yes to "Does it hurt?" and "Do the bandages itch?", but a speed bump on the road forces him to answer "no" to "Are you still mad at us?". Gumball and Darwin sigh in relief and hug Banana Joe, who yells in protest. Gumball and Darwin are oblivious to his muffled outburst. He calms down and simply grunts.

Main Characters

Minor characters

Trivia

This episode aired in Africa and Arabia a day before it did in the United States.

According to this episode, "Gumball" is actually just a nickname. His name was revealed to be "Zach" in "The Name."

Continuity

This is Banana Joe's second major role in an episode, the first one being "The Banana."

Banana Joe's sober face was accompanied by the emotional tune from "The Bumpkin" that played when the Wattersons shed a tear for the TV. This tune is more specifically a part of a symphony written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The party music from "The Bumpkin" plays when Gumball and Darwin get excited for the new The Tale of Zelmore game.

When Darwin was telling Gumball to be nice, they were making a reference to Star Wars.

Banana Joe's statement is a reference to the old philosophical experiment about observation and reality, "If a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, will it make a sound?".

When Darwin says "We're gonna play 'till we're purple!", he's making a reference to The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, in which SpongeBob said "We're gonna party 'till we're purple!"

Banana Joe's bell at the end is a reference to the Breaking Bad character Hector "Tio" Salamanca. "One ring for yes, two rings for no," is also how he communicated. Also, the bell looks exactly the same.

Goofs/Errors

The position of many of the kids on the bus switches between the external view and the internal view. Carmen, for example, was shown at the front, but when the view switches to the interior of the bus, she is seen sitting three rows back. Tobias and Carrie were shown on the left side of the bus, but then they get put on the right side. Their positions change again on the second external view of the bus.

In the beginning of the episode, Carrie did not have headphones, but later on in the episode, she had headphones.

When Gumball and Darwin gasp after what Banana Joe said, if one looks closely, the students on the bus disappear.

In the bathroom, there is a window where the mirror is supposed to be.

The Bus

[Episode begins as we see the school bus leave Elmore Junior High. Cuts to inside the bus, and we see some angry-looking students sitting. Scene cuts to Gumball and Darwin standing at the front of the bus.]

Darwin: Why is everyone so uncool on the school bus? Is it really that bad to move so we can sit together?

[Sussie walks away from hee seat. Scene then shows the full bus, with Gumball in the middle.]

Gumball: Here's a lesson to you selfish seat hogs! Never judge a book by its cover! No matter how weird and… bald... and a bit scary it might be. [Walks up to the seat, which is covered in liquid] Thank you Sussie, you're a gentleman and a lady- [Gets freaked out by seat] Whoa. Oh what is that? [Points to liquid]

Sussie: The leather makes Sussie sweaty.

Gumball: Well, on second thought, what kind of gentleman could rob such a fine lady of her seat? Please, take it back. I insist. [Walks away]

[Gumball approaches Leslie, who is sitting in a seat next to a plaque. His stomach is noticeably bulging, and he acts tired]

Gumball: I've got such a craving for anchovies, and peanut butter! Oh, uh- [Clears throat and gestures to a plaque, which has a sign with a pregnant woman on it] Hurry up, please. I'm sitting for two.

Gumball: Why are you so angry, buddy? Is it because we didn't defend you when Tobias said your mother is so overripe she's got fruit flies?

Darwin: Is it because we left you at that gas station on the way to Daisyland on your birthday. Because we were almost there we decided to just pick you up on the way home?

Gumball: Is it because we forgot about you on that camping trip, and you had to sleep under a tent of your own skin and eat a bit of yourself to survive? And you waited for three days in the woods, and decided to walk home, and got lost? And winter came, and you tried to light that fire with that lighter fluid we said we left you. But it wasn't lighter fluid, it was shampoo? And you got frostbite, and that's kinda why you have no feet?

Banana Joe: Pfft.

Darwin: I swear to you my banana friend: by the end of the weekend, we shall discover the source of your anger and appease your wrath.

At The Grocery

[Gumball and Darwin throw food into their basket. Gumball grabs an item from it]

Gumball: Uh-no peanut butter! The more time spreading this stuff, the less time playing the game!

[He throws it away, and it hits the Old Lizard Woman]

Gumball: I can't believe you'd go and get tangled up with some menial banana problems, and forget about our weekend. I like Banana Joe. He's like my favorite fruit. But I'm not gonna ruin the gaming weekend of the century for a weekday friend. Do you remember how excited we were about this game?

[Flashback. Gumball is using the computer in their room. He browses, bored until he sees something]

Gumball: Dude, there's a new Zelmore coming out.

[Darwin quickly zips to Gumball's side. They look at each other, and scream with joy.]

Banana Joe: Now, what you wanna do is- [Get's squished by barbell] That's an example of what you shouldn't do. I wanted to show you how important it is to always have someone around to spot you. But since I don't have anybody-yet, I'm gonna demonstrate how you get out of a situation like this. What you wanna do is [Gets squeezed by one of the disks] Ooh. Okay, that's clearly expected. Just roll back to the side and- [Gets squished by other disk] Ow! It's okay! I'm sure they'll be here any minute now.

A New Nickname

[Gumball drags Darwin into the living room]

Darwin: I don't like it when people don't like me, okay? And I promised Bajeyjey that I'd help him out!

Gumball: What the- [Drops Darwin] Bajeyjey!? You've got nicknames now? You're better friends with him than me. Why don't I have a nickname?

Darwin: But Gumball is a nickname.

Gumball: Not a new one!

Darwin: You want a new nickname? Okay, fine. I'll give you one now! Just chill out, okay? [Thinks] Gummm…........................bag?

Gumball: As precious as a diamond dipped in gold [Sniffle] sprinkled with emeralds [Sniffle] and all wrapped in a big platinum bow?

Darwin: No dude. More.

[They hug, and exhale]

Gumball: Come on, big buddy. Let's go, and see Joe.

Darwin: Maybe it can wait till tomorrow.

Gumball: You want to play that as much as me, don't you?

Darwin: Yeah, and I'm sure Joe's getting along fine without us.

[Meanwhile, back at the gym, a completely flattened, bruised, and disoriented Joe limply walks around]

Banana Joe: They'll be here soon. They'll be here soon!

[He tries to support himself on a rack of dumbbells, but ends up making them fall on him. He gets up, and holds on to another device, but is pushed away. He ends up on the on the operational treadmill that flattens him until it explodes]

Banana Joe: [Weakly] They'll be here any minute now….

[The gym lights turn off]

The Next Day

[In the school bus, Joe is seen in the same seat that he was on at the beginning of the episode. He is fully bandaged, with his eyes and part of his limbs uncovered. Gumball hands him a bell]

Gumball: Alright dude. One ring for "yes," and two rings for "no." Does it hurt?

Banana Joe: [Ring]

Darwin: Do the bandages itch?

Banana Joe: [Ring]

Gumball: Are you still mad at us?

[A bump in the bus causes Joe to accidentally ring twice]

Gumball and Darwin: Yay! We're BFFs again!

[Gumball and Darwin hug him. At first, Banana Joe resists. Then he just sighs. Episode ends]